I’ve now been in Portland for about 24 hours.  Here’s what I’ve learned.

• They are a “dinner” place; not a breakfast place.
• The homeless are pretty brazen and approach people with great frequency.
• Most of the cool stuff happens on weekends.
• While they consider themselves organic, natural, and into the environment, they smoke like fiends.
• They smoke here — A LOT.
• It’s pretty easy to get around by foot and by rail.
• Restaurants, no matter how empty, will ask if you have a reservation.  They will act put out that you don’t.
• Most places have wine or beer as part of their “atmosphere.”
• There are surprisingly few pigeons given the number of trees.
• The river walk area isn’t as long as you’d think.
• There are a lot of people on bikes.
• There seems to be a Starbucks on every corner.
• Most of the people on bikes in the morning are walking them while drinking Starbucks.
• The zoo is pretty pathetic.  The penguin exhibit was enough to make me blow chunks.
• The Rose Garden is amazingly cool.  There are so many, and the are is so peaceful.
• Kenny and Zuke’s is a great place to eat.  It is not, however, a great place to be served.
• If you tell the doorman at The Governor that  you’re walking to the zoo from your hotel, he will try to dissuade you.  He is doing you a service.  That said, it’s a nice walk, and you can take the train into the zoo.
• The Governor Hotel will try to make your experience nice and right.  Stephanie at the front desk ROCKS.
• You’d think a place called South Park wouldn’t have good food.  It’s a nice wine bar/dinner place.  Great hummus and a good blended Portuguese white.
• I haven’t seen a McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, or other “normal” fast food restaurant in the downtown area.  I have seen Subway and Chipolte.  Most of it seems pretty mom and pop places.
• There are 3 Irish pubs on (what seems to me) the same block.  One has a library ladder to get the liquor down.  That’s a LOT of liquor.
• Public transit from the airport was cheap and easy.  That’s pretty cool.